Overview

This is the first scholarly treatment of the history of public eating in London in the Victorian and Edwardian eras. The quotidian nature of eating out during the working day or evening should not be allowed to obscure the significance of the restaurant (defined broadly, to encompass not merely the prestigious West End restaurant, but also the modest refreshment room, and even the street cart) as a critical component in the creation of modern metropolitan culture. The story of the London restaurant between the 1840s and the First World War serves as an exemplary site for mapping the expansion of commercial leisure, the increasing significance of the service sector, the introduction of technology, the democratization of the public sphere, changing gender roles, and the impact of immigration. The London Restaurant incorporates the notion of 'gastro-cosmopolitanism' to highlight the existence of a diverse culture in London in this period that requires us to think, not merely beyond the nation, but beyond empire. The restaurant also had an important role in contemporary debates about public health and the (sometimes conflicting, but no less often complementary) prerogatives of commerce, moral improvement, and liberal governance. The London Restaurant considers the restaurant as a business and a place of employment, as well as an important site for the emergence of new forms of metropolitan experience and identity. While focused on London, it illustrates the complex ways in which cultural and commercial forces were intertwined in modern Britain, and demonstrates the rewards of writing histories which recognize the interplay between broad, global forces and highly localized spaces.

Full Product Details

9780198817604

Table of Contents

Reviews

A welcome addition to the literature on eating out in England. The London Restaurant, 1840-1914 fills a gap in our knowledge of an important socio-cultural institution of the late Victorian and Edwardian periods and its many-faceted influence on the modern urban experience ... Assael's extraordinary research paints a picture of the restaurant as a complex business, as well as a site for mapping both social identities and cultural exchange (211). * Christel Lane, American Historical Review * [The book is] a painstaking exploration of all aspects of the business. She [Assael] demonstrates the wide range of eating establishments throughout the period, the commercial issues involved in running them, the lives of the waiting staff, health and safety concerns, and what she terms gastro-cosmopolitanism , referring to the increasingly diverse cuisines available. ... Records of all but the grandest restaurants are, Assael admits, next to non-existent, but she works hard to find evidence in such ephemera as menus and advertisements. * Jane Darcy, Times Literary Supplement * It is an excellent book that I cannot recommend highly enough. * Rebecca Earle, University of Warwick, Victorian Studies * One of the most important and innovative aspects of this book lies in its discussion of the role of women ... Assael's narrative places women at the centre of the Victorian restaurant. Assael has produced a key book on dining out in London, which covers a variety of themes. She argues that the Victorian period was the turning-point in the development of this central establishment in modern urban life, reflecting population increase, the growth of leisure time and globalisation. Many of the themes which she tackles remain pertinent today, whether hygiene and health, the pay of waiters, the restaurant as a symbol of cosmopolitanism, or the precariousness of the restaurant business itself. * Panikos Panayi, English Historical Review * The London Restaurant provides a refreshingly comprehensive portrait ... Assael's well-documented history provides a vital corrective to the overemphasis on cultural experiences that has characterized much restaurant history, reminding us that liberal economic and commercial institutions such as the restaurant often provided desirable work, entrepreneurial opportunity, and - through health regulations and the marketplace's longing for diverse experiences - a better dinner for many consumers. * Andrew P. Haley, Journal of Modern History * full of rich and original research * Bee Wilson, London Review of Books *

[The book is] a painstaking exploration of all aspects of the business. She [Assael] demonstrates the wide range of eating establishments throughout the period, the commercial issues involved in running them, the lives of the waiting staff, health and safety concerns, and what she terms gastro-cosmopolitanism , referring to the increasingly diverse cuisines available. ... Records of all but the grandest restaurants are, Assael admits, next to non-existent, but she works hard to find evidence in such ephemera as menus and advertisements. * Jane Darcy, Times Literary Supplement *

Author Information

Brenda Assael was educated at Barnard College of Columbia University and the University of Toronto. She is the author of The Circus and Victorian Society (2005), and has published widely on the intersections between culture, society, commerce, and politics in nineteenth-century Britain.

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